10/17/2019

While President Trump may not directly benefit financially from hosting the event at his property, the Trump Organization will most certainly benefit with a significant shot in the arm to the Trump Brand, likely resulting in an increase of national and international tourism to the resort, and his other properties. It’s disingenuous to believe that such a high-profile meeting involving some of the world’s most prominent leaders wouldn’t benefit the Trump Organization:

[A]cting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney announced…that next year’s G-7 meeting will be held at President Trump’s resort in Doral, Florida between June 10 and 12.

The decision to hold the G-7 meeting at the Trump National Doral Golf Club had been bandied about for months — since Trump made a pitch to have next year’s summit at the resort during August’s G-7 conference in France – and has created controversy amid concerns over the ethics of the president personally profiting off an official government event.

During a rare and contentious White House press briefing, Mulvaney tried to assuage concerns about any emoluments violations by the president by telling the media that Trump will not make any money off the event. He said the golf club will be providing the location and services at cost.

“The president has made it clear that he doesn’t profit from being here…“The resort is doing it at cost…it’s much cheaper to do it at Doral than at other sites.”

When I originally posted about the possibility of the G-7 being held at Doral, I noted that there were already concerns about the conflict of interest, given that the President had never divested from the Trump Organization:

The Washington Post reports that Trump has long pushed to hold next year’s G7 at the Doral but has seen some internal resistance from people concerned about the ethics of such a decision. The problem is that Trump has never divested from his company, the Trump Organization, meaning he would personally profit from the summit’s coming to the Doral.

He dismissed the concerns speaking to reporters Monday. “In my opinion, I’m not going to make any money,” he said. He added that being president costs him between $3 billion and $5 billion a year, a claim he said he would soon back up with evidence.

Today, Mulvaney defended the decision when asked about bad optics amid Trump’s accusations about Joe Biden pressuring the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor looking into a company where Hunter Biden sat on the board:

Mulvaney was also questioned about the optics of how hosting the event at Doral would look – and any possible financial gains the president would get from the summit – in light of Trump’s unfounded claims that former Vice President Joe Biden used his office to pressure the Ukrainian government into firing top prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating a company where his son was on the board.

The former vice president has acknowledged publicly that he pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin but denied it had any relation to his son’s business dealings in the country. Biden said his actions were in line with pressure from other foreign leaders to fire the prosecutor.

Mulvaney argued that the president does not need any help with his brand and that he had made his fortune before entering politics.

“Consider that Donald Trump’s brand is strong enough at it is and doesn’t need any help…The Trump family made their money before they went into politics.”

While it is true that the Trump family went into politics with significant wealth and an established brand, the Doral Resort is not doing well financially and hosting an event of this magnitude could certainly reverse its fortunes:

Trump’s presidency so far seems to have harmed Trump Doral’s bottom line. In a meeting with a magistrate for the Miami-Dade Value Adjustment Board in December 2018, a consultant hired by the Trump Organization said the hotel is “severely under-performing.” The consultant cited lower occupancy and room rates at the Doral hotel compared to its competitors and an 18 percent slump in revenue from 2015 to 2017 as reasons to lower the property’s value.

Trump blew off any concerns about his decision:

I used to make money off giving speeches. Now, I make speeches all the time and you know how much I make? Zero. From my standpoint, I’m not going to make any money…I don’t want to make any money.

Mulvaney tried to assuage concerns about any emoluments violations by the president by telling the media that Trump will not make any money off the event. He said the golf club will be providing the location and services at cost.

“The president has made it clear that he doesn’t profit from being here…“The resort is doing it at cost…it’s much cheaper to do it at Doral than at other sites.”

And many people, unfortunately, who don’t know what “make the nut” or “stay afloat” as it relates to business is, will buy it. A business has costs, from payrolls, to mortgage payments, to taxes, to perishable items, to utility bills, etc., etc., which it has to pay whether it has customers or not.

“At cost” is still making money that you would not otherwise have had and would have had to go into debt for. To put it simply, if you pay all bills, you are still bribing me (or I’m extorting you, or both) even if you don’t give me pocket money too.

I’m more or less sanguine about the President hosting people at his little golf club. He’ll only be President for one to five years longer, and any revenue increase he gets from having assorted Eurotrash and kleptocrats check in to the hotel will be offset by all of the people who will forever after boycott Trump properties. This is one of those small eye-rolling moves that this guy makes, but it pales in comparison to the bad policy and scattershot governing.

“Good morning, Mr. narciso. Welcome to the DMV. Yessir, I would most certainly be glad to renew your drivers license for you, but I could not in good conscience allow your picture to be part of the public records with hair like that. Tell you what. Run across the street to my son’s barbershop for a quick trim and shampoo. Tell him I sent you and he’ll do it at cost.”

This is not emoluments. This is bribery and extortion. It’s how most Illinois politicians go to prison. Maybe later I’ll look up the federal law. And the Florida law, which Pence cannot pardon him for breaking.

It’s good advertising for a slumping property narc. Advertising that is probably cheaper than taking out ads. Plus, there a lot of influence peddlers and hangers on who will likely be using Trump services and giving Trump money as a result of Trump causing the G-7 to be at his property.

I have to look at what time it is to see which actor using the narciso persona is posting. This shift is normally for the link farm, it’s pretty obvious that this is all copied from the shared doc sprayed out.

Here’s my question: Will Trump continue to host the G7 at his Florida resort next June, even if he’s no longer president?
Remember all the times when he said “no quid pro quo”? Here’s one:

….You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!

You know when this came out, it was quid pro quo. Well there was none. Also yesterday, the Ambassador, who I heard was tremendous, and a tremendous person, he was 100% for what we’re saying, 100%. And if you look, he also said there was no quid pro quo.

“[Did] he also mention to me, in the past, that the corruption related to the DNC server?” Mulvaney said. “Absolutely, no question about that. But that’s it. And that’s why we held up the money. … The look back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the thing that he was worried about in corruption with that nation. And that is absolutely appropriate.”

I’m more or less sanguine about the President hosting people at his little golf club.

I’m unhappy with it. Trump claims he is providing his facility “at cost” but I suspect, strongly, that there will be millions of dollars of upgrades paid for by the US. Things like security (gates, walls, a moat?), enhanced communications, furniture and decorations directed by FLOTUS, special requests by leaders, etc.

The list could literally go on and on, and all of it will be left there for Trump’s benefit and use. We do enough for ex-presidents. Do we have to do the same for their businesses?

Remember when optics around a sitting president mattered? Because Trump has wreaked such havoc and turned so many norms upside down (much to the joy of his supporters), there is very little energy or will left to spend on this. That and too many R’s are concerned with staying on his good side, and concerned with their re-election.

You look at some of the richest people in the US, Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg, Buffett, Bezos. They started from nowhere. They all got that way by creating or investing in products and innovations we all use everyday. They made many other people wealthy and created thousands of jobs. The companies are in the portfolios of who knows how many who can retire comfortably and securely due to the success of those enterprises.

Trumps Doral resort. Look at his career as a businessman. You can’t say any of those things about him. He started in daddy’s rich pocket. I can’t afford any of his resorts or hotels. He keeps all the profits for himself and his family. He sold sham products like Trump U, crappy overpriced steaks, apparel, vodka. He took money from banks and investors and flushed it down his golden toilet with his failures.

It’s unsurprising that someone whose self-interest and money-making interests always takes priority would make this decision. As with so many other things that he has used his position of power for to expand his brand and business interests, his supporters will see that as simply being a “smart businessman”.

The Federal Bribery Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 201(b), as promised:
Relevant statutory language:
18 U.S.C. § 201(b):
Whoever—
(2) being a public official or person selected to be a public official, directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other person or entity, in return for:
….
(C) being induced to do or omit to do any act in violation of the official duty of such official or person;
. . . shall be fined under this title . . . or imprisoned for not more than fifteen years, or both.

In the meantime, Congress has the power of the purse. Nancy can introduce a bill that no government money will be spent on Doral. Actually name Doral. Then she can laugh at Republicans in the House and Senate who don’t vote for it in the first place or don’t vote to override the venal venerian’s veto.

The Treasury donations have been criticized by watchdog groups and Democrats as insufficient and shrouded in secrecy. They say the money doesn’t cover all of Trump’s properties, such as resorts, and its unclear how the company is calculating profits.

“Trust Donald Trump to do the fully honest thing with regard to money” is what you tell a chump.

Struber also misses the impact of covering the fixed cost of a high capital business. The cost per unit is calculated (roughly) by dividing total costs by predicted unit sale. A substantial increase in unit sale above that predicted volume is highly profitable. It also does a terrible job evaluating potential impact to brand.

On one hand the Never trumpers and Democrats crow about how they’ve cost Trump billions with their boycotts, lawsuits, and negative publicity. On the other hand, they imagine Trump become POTUS to make money!

He donates his salary, he has no outside income, and he’s lost business. But OMB he’s going to host the G7 at Doral. And..so what? Unless you can show it will cost much less going somewhere else, it doesn’t matter.

When the NeverTrumper “libertarians” can come up with a candidate with a civilian business record prior to governing that involves the ownership of properties large and manifold enough to actually host gatherings like this, then they can start complaining in a manner than normal people might take seriously.

Until then, please continue to advance a slate of candidates wholly financially dependent on their donors for literally every aspect of their political platform and existence, at least when they’re not dependent on extremely obvious Ukrainian quid pro quo, extremely shabby dependence on China while pretending to be made in America, and other schemes that all seem to subsist entirely on the US taxpayer or the US’s protectorates. There are a thousand thousand unindicted Paul Manaforts in DC and all the fire and fury against them seems to have died out after they got one.

In a world of very governmental ‘Non-Governmental Organizations’, trust no one claiming to be an honest third party, a mere student of the law as it stands, or a ‘moderate rebel.’ Their god is their bellies and their loyalties are to none.

US: Yes, sir. Perhaps you could invite Kim, Xi and Erdogan as well. Maybe a few other corrupt dictators of failed countries.

Trump: Well, they are friends of mine. They write me such lovely letters. I’ll see what I can do, if they formally agree to provide dirt on my political opponents and any evidence they can dredge up to support my conspiracy theories.

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